The technology inside video poker machines has changed dramatically since the first machines appeared in the 1970s. Understanding this evolution explains how casinos manage their gaming floors and why the games you play today are fair.
The EPROM Era (1980s-2000s)
Early video poker machines stored their game programs on EPROM chips (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) — physical microchips inside each machine. To change a game's pay table, a technician had to physically open the machine and swap the EPROM chip.
This had important implications:
- Each machine was independent. The program was stored locally, not on a network.
- Pay table changes were labor-intensive. Swapping EPROMs across hundreds of machines took days.
- Verification was physical. Gaming regulators could pull the EPROM from any machine and verify that its program matched the approved version.
For players, the EPROM system meant that once a machine was set up with a 9/6 Jacks or Better pay table, it stayed that way until a technician physically changed the chip.
The Game King Revolution (1990s)
IGT's Game King platform was a major advance. Instead of single-game machines, Game King terminals offered multiple VP games (and other games) on one machine, selectable by the player. This is the platform still found in many casinos today.
Game King machines still used local storage, but the multi-game capability meant a single machine could offer Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and more. This increased floor efficiency and gave players more choice.
Server-Based Gaming (2000s-Present)
Modern server-based systems store game programs on a central server rather than on individual machines. The machine on the casino floor is essentially a terminal — it displays the game and processes player input, but the game logic runs on the server.
Advantages for casinos:
- Remote pay table changes. A floor manager can change every Jacks or Better machine from 9/6 to 8/5 from their office, without touching a single machine.
- Flexible floor management. The same physical machine can run different games at different times of day.
- Easier regulatory compliance. Centralized systems simplify auditing — regulators can verify server software rather than checking individual machines.
Implications for players:
- Pay tables can change more frequently and more easily than in the EPROM era
- The same machine might have different games or pay tables on different visits
- The RNG and game logic are still tested and certified by independent labs
What Hasn't Changed
Regardless of the underlying technology — EPROM, Game King, or server-based — the fundamental mathematics of video poker remain identical. A 9/6 Jacks or Better machine returns 99.54% whether the program runs on a 1990s EPROM chip or a 2020s cloud server. The deck has 52 cards, each card is equally likely, and the probabilities are fixed by mathematics, not by technology.
The technology determines how the game is delivered and managed. The math determines whether the game is fair. Both are regulated.